


Checklist

by YouKnowMeAsJ



Category: Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-27
Updated: 2016-08-14
Packaged: 2018-06-04 18:38:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,092
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6670003
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/YouKnowMeAsJ/pseuds/YouKnowMeAsJ
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Here, have some fluff.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, you guys know I love you, but you are KILLING me with all your angst lately! So since nobody seemed to be writing the pointless fluffy dribble I needed, I sat down and wrote it myself. Also, Jack doesn't wear a shirt (as God intended).

It was a lazy Thursday morning, the kind that happened when Jack took some rare time off. Phryne’s house was too busy on days like this, so they were at Jack’s. They’d slept in, and Jack had cooked a delicious breakfast, which they ate in bed, as it was too cold to be out and about (especially since they were sharing one pair of pajamas between the two of them). It was a loving little ritual they had: after breakfast, Phryne sat up against the headboard, surrounded by the million and a half pillows she’d had him purchase shortly after she began to spend the night there, and occupied herself with a book; Jack curled up with his head on her lap for a little morning nap. He would doze while she put her arm around him and drew a relaxing pattern on his back with her fingertips; Phryne had never dreamed that anything this domestic could feel so wonderfully perfect.

This morning, however, her thoughts were elsewhere. She poked Jack in the shoulder just as he was relaxing into sleep.

“I’ll always be Phryne Fisher, you know”

He cracked one eye, and looked up at her with a mix of curiosity and annoyance. “Of course you will”.

“I mean it. I refuse to be anything else”

He answered without opening his eyes. “Duly noted”

“And I’ll always work. I can’t really be myself if I’m not working, even though I am wealthy. Very wealthy”

He still didn’t open his eyes, and answered through a yawn. “Yes, you are”

“And I manage my own money”

Still with his eyes closed: “You do”

“I will  _always_  manage my own money”

Jack reluctantly opened his eyes to look at her. “My love, are you having some sort of apoplexy?”

She went on as if she hadn’t heard him. “I like to go out dancing”

Jack sat up to look at her, leaning one hand on the bed on the other side of Phryne’s legs, feeling mild concern. “Phryne, is something wrong?”

“I like to go out dancing” she repeated. “Late. With men. I also drink. Sometimes, a lot”

Jack rubbed his hand over his eyes. “Phryne, we’ve had an agreement for a very long time now. When you go out dancing by yourself, you come back here afterwards, and get into bed with me.  You’ve gotten quite good at it; you don’t even wake me up anymore. I love going to bed alone, knowing I’ll wake up in the morning with you in my arms. It feels like Christmas Eve, when I was a boy”. Her look was all tenderness, and he leaned over and kissed her on the cheek. “And I’ve never minded that you dance with other men. When I get the chance, I enjoy watching you flirt, actually. You look so beautiful, and the poor fellow always looks so sure of himself…”

She interrupted, very serious. “But I always,  _always_ , come home to you. Only ever you, Jack”

“Yes, I know. That’s the very best part”. He nuzzled into her neck. “So if we agree on all this, why am I not getting my Morning Nap In Phryne’s Lap, hmm? I’ve been looking forward to this since Saturday. We’ve hardly seen each other this past week”

She smiled and ruffled his curls. “You really agree to all this?”

He looked at her sleepily. “You know I do. I love the way we live”

“Even though people talk about us and say I have a thousand other lovers?”

He smirked. “Now you’re just being cocky. I’ve never heard any number greater than twenty”

Phryne laughed. “I’m serious. People think you’re a fool for being with me”

Jack took her chin in his large hand and turned her head until she looked at him. “I love you, Phryne. Possibly more than I’ve ever loved anyone else, in my life. And I trust you. Definitely more than I’ve ever trusted anyone else, in my life” He kissed her, and rested his forehead on hers. “Everything else is somebody else’s problem, not ours”

“You’re sure about all this? Because this is the only chance you’ll get to change your mind”

He leaned back to look at her. “I’m very sure about our relationship. I have no idea what’s gotten into you, though”

She ignored the last bit. “If you’re sure” -she paused and waited for him to nod, which he did- “and you won’t be changing your mind” –another pause, this time for a shake of the head. She smiled, satisfied- “then it’s alright. I’ll marry you whenever you’re ready”. She went back to reading her book, leaving Jack with his mouth open and his eyebrows running to confer with his hairline.

“Excuse me, you’ll what? Did you just propose to me?”

She looked up from her book. “Of course not. I would never take that away from you. I’m just letting you know: whenever you want to, I’ll accept”

Jack looked confused. “But I haven’t asked. Have I? I was pretty heavily drugged after that thing with the Merino Boys over the weekend. Did I ask you to marry me?”

Phryne looked at him as one looks at a small child who is struggling with his times tables. “No, darling, you didn’t. I’m simply saying, should the mood ever strike, feel free to go with it”. She closed his mouth with her index finger, and went back to reading.

Jack stared at her, with wet eyes. Finally, he managed to gruffly speak her name. When she put the book down, her eyes were a little moist too. She spoke very softly.

“Like you said, we’ve hardly seen each other this week. I’ve been looking forward to Reading With A Lapful Of Jack for days” She took a deep breath “I want us to live together. And no matter how wonderfully modern you’ve become, I know that can’t happen unless we’re married. Your superiors would never have it, and I don’t want to jeopardize your position at work; you love what you do. And being married to you isn’t as frightening as it used to be. It’s far more frightening to think that something could happen to either one of us, and we could die without having kissed each other good morning that day” Her voice cracked “I love you, Jack. And I’d like to spend as much of my time with you as possible, every day”

Jack nodded and kissed her deeply. Nobody understood that feeling better than he did. “Do I have to do it today?”

She smiled and shook her head. “No, darling. Whenever you feel like it. My mind is made up”

He snuggled down onto her lap again, smiling broadly. “I’m sending those lovely Merino chaps a carton of cigarettes tomorrow”.

Phryne laughed. “Take your nap, Jack. I have plans for later, and you’ll need your energy”

He did as he was told.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is entirely Fire_Sign's fault, because she used her talent for evil, and I had to shift the balance of the angst-fluff universe back to normal.
> 
> Edit: When I first posted this chapter, I forgot to mention that I absolutely ripped off another phracker for Annie, Jack's sister. But I can't remember who it is! So thank you, and sorry!

Jack proposed four days later. He spent the first three of those days trying to think up the perfect romantic setting. He considered a sunset on the beach, a walk amongst the rose gardens, an autopsy over a freshly murdered body. He made a list of Shakespeare quotes he might use and then discarded half of them for being too clichéd, only to add them back on because they were the truth.

 

On the fourth day, it just happened. They were still staying at his small cottage, because Mac had recommended time off so he could recover, and the Chief Commissioner had given him two weeks. Despite the lack of luxury and staff, the cozy atmosphere was perfect for Jack and Phryne. They were making supper for themselves and he was watching her masterfully crack eggs with one hand, wondering if there was anything she wasn’t good at. She said something funny and he laughed so hard, his stomach hurt, and when he could catch his breath, he walked out of the room, came back with an old biscuit tin, and asked her to marry him.

“Please marry me, Phryne” he said again, because she was staring with her eyebrows raised, but hadn’t answered yet. He took her face in his hands, and kissed her. “I’ve been trying to plan a perfect proposal, but it’s never going to work because the staged bits are not what I love about you, about us”

“The staged bits?”

“You know, when things are planned and everything is perfect. Like the way you look when we go to one of your aunt’s parties and you dance with a prince or an emperor or someone like that. I love watching you, but that’s not what I love about you. You’ve changed my life, Phryne. This part of my life” he waved his arms around, indicating his kitchen, “the lonely bit. I hadn’t looked forward to coming home at the end of the day for years before we started all of this. You’ve reminded me of something else too. Here…” He took her by the hand and sat her at the kitchen table, where he had placed the old biscuit tin.

“This is where I kept my most prized possessions when I was growing up. Your Buffalo Bill badge used to be in here” He opened the tin to reveal a wealth of boyhood treasure: three or four glass marbles, some tin soldiers, a faded piece of pink ribbon, what seemed to be an old chocolate coin, and a stone shaped like a heart were just a few of the wonders hidden within. He poked around a bit and took out a ring. It was pretty, a large, round piece of clear glass set in tarnished metal that had once been golden. He took Phryne’s hand. “Annie and I went to the beach with our parents one summer when we were children, and we found this ring. Now, we were quite young –I was 9 and Annie was 7-, but we could tell straight away it was valuable. This is obviously a very real diamond set in very real gold”

Phryne nodded solemnly. “Of course”

Jack continued. “After much debate, Annie and I decided that even thought it was a ladies’ ring, it should belong to me. One day, I would meet my soulmate you see, and I would need to have a diamond ring on hand, in order to get her to marry me. So my generous sister forfeited her first piece of jewelry, to ensure my future happiness”

“An act of true love” said Phryne tenderly.

“Exactly, a truly selfless act of love that blessed this ring forevermore. I guarded it carefully for years, waiting for the worthy recipient”

“What about Rosie, why doesn’t she have it?” asked Phryne.

“Because she was kind enough to give it back to me when she left. Even as angry and hurt as she was then, she said she knew it meant a lot to me and she hoped I’d find someone else to give it to, someday. Which makes two genuine acts of caring bestowed upon this ring. This is a very powerful ring”.

Jack kneeled before Phryne, still holding her hand. “Phryne, I’m giving you this ring today because when I am with you, I feel the way I did the day I found it: like life is a joyous adventure, and I can’t wait to see what happens next. Before you clicked your heels into my life I had forgotten it was possible to feel that way. Thank you so much for reminding me”. He slipped the ring onto Phryne’s finger and kissed her hand.

Phryne swallowed the lump in her throat long enough to whisper “I love you with all of my heart, Jack Robinson”, before pulling him up for a kiss.

 

They were married a week later. It was a simple ceremony, with just their families. Mac and Bert cheered raucously when it was over. Aunt P cried with Jane’s arms around her shoulders. Cec and Hugh showered the bride and groom with confetti made from newspapers, while Dot scolded then both for making a mess, even as she clapped her hands with glee. Then they all feasted on Mr. Butler’s delicious cooking. It was the first time Jack’s parents had met Phryne’s family; they stood with Annie and toasted the happy couple, tearfully declaring they couldn’t have dreamed of a nicer group of people for their boy.

 

No, they did not live happily ever after. But they did live mostly happily. And Jack never got his ring back, again.


End file.
